Vladimir Putin has signalled he could agree to Donald Trump‘s proposals for massive defence cuts in return for the United States doing the same – all the while Europe is working to increase its military spending in the face of the Russian threat.
The US president has said he wants talks with Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping about a 50 per cent reduction in military budgets in all three countries.
‘I think the idea is a good one: the United States would reduce by 50 per cent, and we would reduce by 50 per cent,’ said Putin, in a move towards Trump as their two countries continue to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
‘And the People’s Republic of China would then join in if it wants to. We think that the proposal is a good one and we are ready for discussions on that.’
It comes as Trump has urged European leaders to spend more on defence, with French President Emmanuel Macron agreeing during his visit to Washington yesterday that the continent needs to take more responsibility for its own security.
France could be ready to use its nuclear deterrent to shore up Europe’s defence, according to reports, at a time when the US has threatened withdrawing its forces, potentially leaving a door open for Putin’s armies.
Deploying nuclear-armed fighter jets to Germany could send a strong message to the Russian dictator, a French official told The Telegraph, while diplomats in Berlin reportedly suggested they would urge Britain to do the same.
Friederich Merz, the man expected to be Germany’s next chancellor after his election victory on Sunday, has warned that the US under Trump has now become ‘indifferent to the fate of Europe’ amid the continued Russian threat.
‘It is clear that we Europeans now need to very hurriedly become capable to act,’ he told a press conference. ‘This is really five minutes to midnight for Europe.’
Russian ‘Yars’ intercontinental ballistic missile launchers are displayed in the Victory Day military parade in Moscow last year
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands at the end of a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House
Russian President Vladimir Putin pictured at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 24
Ahead of his conservative alliance’s victory over the weekend, Merz raised the prospect on Friday of discussing with Paris and London whether ‘whether their nuclear protection could also be extended to us’.
As calls grow for European nations to increase and pool their defence capabilities, Britain will join EU leaders in Cape Town this week for potentially groundbreaking talks on setting up joint defence funding arrangements, the FT reports.
‘It could be a fund or a bank. For example, there is the concept of the rearmament bank, which we are also considering,’ Polish finance minister Andrzej Domanski told the newspaper.
He said discussions with the UK had been being held for months, adding that ‘without Great Britain, the defence of Europe is difficult to imagine.’
The UK is seeking to increase its defence spending from 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.5 per cent – an expense which would amount to around £5billion a year.
During the war Putin has allowed his spending on defence – including hypersonic missiles, security, and law and order – to soar to almost 41 per cent of total government spending.
If he is serious about slashing this, it could surge much-needed cash to civilians and public services as Russians continue to face soaring inflation and other issues.
Moscow and Washington have been engaging over the past two weeks regarding the war in Ukraine, a marked shift in US policy, leading to fears in the West that relations between the two superpowers are warming and that Putin could take advantage.
Zelensky has also so far been shut out of the discussions, with Trump even branding him a ‘dictator’ – using lines that critics have said are straight out of the Moscow playbook.
A Russian Sarmat missile test launch in 2022
During his meeting with Trump at the White House yesterday, Macron suggested the US leader was right to establish a relationship with Putin.
This position marks a departure from the position of London, Berlin and Paris up until now, who have all maintained that Moscow should be isolated and sanctioned for its bloody war.
‘There is good reason for President Trump to re-engage with President Putin,’ Macron said, adding that the new administration represented ‘a big change’.
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated Britain’s ‘ironclad’ backing for Kyiv in a series of discussions with allies over the weekend as he make the case for safeguards to protect the country’s sovereignty.
Keir Starmer is putting on a united front with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders today as they mark the third anniversary of Russia ‘s full-scale invasion
Mr Zelensky (pictured at a service with his wife Olena and European leaders today) has so far been shut out of the discussions, with Donald Trump even branding him a ‘dictator’
Macron said that France and the UK should be willing to play a leading role in ensuring the security of Ukraine after a peace deal, possibly in the form of air power and troops stationed away from the frontline.
But echoing his allies, he stressed the importance of having an American backstop, something he did not get any commitment from Trump on.
Trump failed to criticise Putin at all during his meeting with Macron, and speaking today, Putin heaped praise on his US counterpart.
‘He as a unique position. He doesn’t just say what he thinks, he says what he wants. Well, that is the privilege of the leader of a major, great power.’
Putin added that despite talks being largely bilateral so far, ‘we are not rejecting the participation of European countries’ in the Ukraine settlement.
